An apostate is someone who has been substantially informed about biblical Christianity, often through long participation in a church, and then deliberately renounces and deserts the faith he or she once professed. It is more than visiting a church and deciding not to return. Pastor Mike understands apostasy as evidence that the person’s earlier profession …
Yes. Romans 10:12 says there is no distinction between Jew and Greek because the same Lord is Lord of all and gives his riches to everyone who calls on him. Revelation 11:15 likewise declares that the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ. Jesus is therefore Lord and …
Pastor Mike rejects the idea that the church consists of two spiritual classes: fruitless believers who enter heaven without an inheritance and committed disciples who receive an inheritance or uniquely become Christ’s bride. Scripture does not separate being a Christian from being a disciple in that way. The Bible does describe many professing believers who …
Yes, a genuine Christian can temporarily attend a church that teaches false doctrine. The seriousness of the error matters: a congregation may be sound on the Trinity, Christ, and the gospel while holding mistaken views on secondary issues. No church is perfectly correct in every detail. A new believer might even come to saving faith …
Yes, a Roman Catholic can be saved through repentance and faith in Christ. Salvation depends on Christ and the gospel, not on the denominational label a person uses. The serious difficulty arises when someone knowingly relies on the Roman Catholic sacramental system, church tradition, and ecclesiastical authority as the means of salvation. The Reformation centered …
In ordinary conversation people may use the word Christian loosely, but biblically a true Christian is someone who has been saved. The New Testament uses the term only a few times; more common descriptions include disciple, believer, and brother or sister. To be saved means being rescued from the just penalty of sin. God is …
If “remnant” means the genuinely regenerate people within the visible church, then yes. In the Old Testament, many belonged outwardly to covenant Israel while rejecting God in practice; the faithful remnant constituted the true people of God. Jesus similarly warned that the visible community contains false sheep, weeds among wheat, and people who profess faith …
Faithful interpreters disagree about Romans 7:15–20, so the passage should be read within Paul’s larger argument in Romans 6–8 rather than isolated from its context. The present tense and first-person language make the paragraph challenging, but neither feature by itself decides whether Paul is describing his Christian experience. Pastor Mike understands the passage as Paul …
No. Pastor Mike sees no biblical basis for dividing the genuinely redeemed church into a larger group and a smaller, superior group that alone becomes Christ’s bride. Everyone who truly belongs to Christ in the New Covenant age is included in the bridal imagery. The bride of Christ is one analogy for the whole church, …
Yes—respond to the burden God has placed on your heart, while approaching the family with humility and compassion. If you cannot speak directly with the dying person, write a short message and graciously ask a parent or caregiver to read it. Acknowledge that they may not share your convictions, but explain that your request comes …
Someone may study Scripture, participate in a sound church, and show early signs of interest without possessing genuine saving faith. Jesus’ parable of the soils and the disciples who departed in John 6 show that difficult teaching can expose an unconverted heart. First make sure the person has understood God’s character and judgment accurately. If …
God’s sovereign work in salvation does not make assurance impossible. Scripture tells Christians to examine themselves, recognize the fruit of regeneration, and know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. A real response to the gospel and a changed life can be identified. Unbelievers are not neutral people who want God …
When a Christian dies, the immaterial person leaves the body and is immediately with Christ. Philippians 1 describes departing to be with Christ as far better, and 2 Corinthians 5 says that being absent from the body means being at home with the Lord. This rules out the idea that believers remain unconscious in “soul …
A person who trusts the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not trusting the biblical God, the biblical Christ, or the biblical gospel. Mormon teaching presents God, Jesus, humanity’s destiny, and salvation differently from historic Christianity. Using Christian words does not guarantee the same meaning. Mormon theology does not teach …
Assurance should rest on what Scripture says, not merely on another person’s reassurance. If someone has examined her life in light of biblical teaching and concluded that she lacks the fruit of regeneration, friendly approval should not be allowed to silence that conviction. A husband may speak privately with the person offering reassurance. The conversation …
It is better for an unbelieving spouse to recognize that he or she has not been converted than to rest in false assurance. A Christian spouse should continue encouraging what is right, because restraining sinful behavior is good even though outward reform cannot replace the new heart that comes through salvation. Keep exposing your spouse …
Nature and conscience reveal God’s existence, moral order, and humanity’s guilt, but that general revelation does not save. Romans 1–2 teaches that it leaves people without excuse and should awaken the recognition that they need a solution outside themselves. Old Testament believers and New Testament believers are alike in responding with repentance and faith. Old …
Celebrating years of sobriety is not inherently sinful, and Alcoholics Anonymous has helped some people stop drinking. Pastor Mike nevertheless recommends that a Christian celebration center on Christ’s transforming grace rather than on AA or a former identity as an alcoholic. The New Testament says, “such were some of you.” A believer should not remain …
John 16:7 describes the ordered sequence of God’s redemptive plan. Christ first completed his earthly ministry and accomplished the work that provides forgiveness; afterward the Holy Spirit came in the distinctive new-covenant ministry Jesus promised. Ezekiel and Jeremiah portray that covenant in two connected stages: God cleanses his people from sin and then places his …
Election and predestination teach that salvation is an undeserved gift of God’s grace. They should humble believers and remove any basis for boasting, because no Christian can claim to have been morally wiser or better than an unbelieving neighbor. Those doctrines never cancel the Bible’s invitations to repent, believe, seek God, and choose life. Scripture …
Working out salvation means actively obeying what God has called a Christian to do. Believers should devote themselves to good works rather than waiting passively for spiritual growth. Faithful obedience in a fallen world will naturally encounter resistance, suffering, and difficult decisions. Christians do not need to manufacture tests of faith; serious efforts to do …
The Reformers initially sought to reform the Roman Catholic Church, especially its teaching about salvation and practices such as selling indulgences. Separation became unavoidable because Rome rejected their biblical corrections rather than changing its doctrine. The Council of Trent later formalized Rome’s counter-Reformation teaching and condemned the Reformers’ gospel of salvation by grace alone through …
Pastor Mike prefers to explain biblical passages rather than lead with theological labels. When texts such as Ephesians 2 or Romans 11 address human sin and God’s sovereign work, he teaches that the problem of sin is so profound that God must decisively act to save. That conviction accounts for much of the logic commonly …
Pastor Mike and John MacArthur shared the same basic theological convictions on most major doctrines. Both came from conservative Baptist settings and reached similar conclusions about the gospel, including opposition to versions of “free grace” teaching that weaken the biblical relationship between genuine faith and a changed life. Their agreement was substantial enough that Pastor …
The doctrines of election and predestination are not meant to make sincere seekers wonder whether God has secretly excluded them. They should give believers confidence that God accomplishes salvation from beginning to end. Assurance comes by examining the revealed gospel and our response to it, not by trying to look behind God’s hidden decree. Scripture …
In its Gospel setting, the unpardonable sin was committed by religious leaders who personally witnessed Jesus’ unmistakable miracles and knowingly attributed the Holy Spirit’s work to Satan. Their jealousy led them to tell others that Christ’s divine works were demonic. Jesus called this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and told those particular leaders that they …
Suicide is a grievous sin because it is the intentional taking of a human life made in God’s image. Christians should resist it as they would every other serious temptation and seek immediate help when suicidal thoughts arise. However, Scripture does not divide sins into “mortal” and “venial” categories in which one final act automatically …
Second Peter 2:1 describes false teachers who secretly introduce destructive heresies and deny “the Master who bought them.” The phrase should be read in light of their profession: these teachers claimed Christ as Master and presented themselves as Christian teachers, even while their lives and doctrine denied him. Peter’s wording is therefore sarcastic or ironic. …
No. Jesus and Paul both taught salvation by faith and the necessity of good works in the life that follows. The apparent conflict disappears when we distinguish the basis of salvation from the fruit of salvation. In Luke 18, Jesus says the tax collector who pleaded, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” went home …
Yes. A Christian is not repeatedly earning salvation, but genuine conversion produces an ongoing awareness of sin, repentance, and dependence on God’s grace. A person who says he asked forgiveness once and now has no need to confess sin shows a troubling lack of spiritual conviction. John 16 says the Holy Spirit convicts people concerning …